Stubbs the Cat Is the World’s First Feline Mayor

Meet Stubbs, a sassy cat who has recently rocketed to fame. As mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, he attracts visitors from far and wide, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the longest serving mayors in the US.

Known locally as “Mayor Stubbs,” the feline’s popularity is undisputed: he has 1,000 friends on Facebook, which exceeds the town’s 900 residents.

As the story goes, 15 years ago many of Talkeetna’s residents didn’t think much of the candidates who were running for mayor. So as a joke, they encouraged enough people to elect Stubbs the cat as a write-in candidate. He ended up winning, and has held this honorary office ever since.

Nagley’s General Store — Mayor Stubbs’ makeshift Town Hall — gets dozens of visitors a day asking for the mayoral feline, and receives letters and cards from all over in his honour.

And as the legend of Stubbs spreads, the folks at Nagley’s report that more and more people are flocking to the store, and even making trips to Alaska just to catch a glimpse of the cat mayor.

“Oh my gosh, we probably have 30 to 40 people a day come in who are tourists wanting to see him,” Lauri Stec, a worker at Nagley’s, said.

Residents say they’re happy with the boost that their feline mayor is giving to the tourism industry in the small town of Talkeetna, located at the base of Mount McKinley, into a tourist destination.

Skye Farrar, a worker at Nagley’s, said, “I’m very confident that Talkeena will be A-OK, as long as we have Stubbs around.”